Calvin had loved Halloween as a child.
As an adult, he'd still loved it, especially once his daughter was born. Together, they would go and pick out a set of costumes together, and decorate the house together, and all in all it was the time they both looked forward to most in the year. Now, however, Halloween was marked heavily by her absence. Sitting on his parents front porch swing, sipping a beer and watching all the kids running around in costumes from door to door...he couldn't help but feel an odd combination of loss and anger. Loss because he no longer was able to do this, and anger that others could. If some kids came up to the porch, he was polite and handed out candy, but otherwise he was more or less content to people watch. He heard the front door and screen door swing open, and he looked over to see his father, Barry, walk out onto the porch. He looked at Calvin, and the two waved at one another. Barry then walked over to the swing and sat down beside Calvin, reaching into the bowl and pulling out a few pieces of candy, unwrapping and popping them into his mouth. "You doing okay, buddy?" Barry asked. "Doing as okay as I can, I guess," Calvin. "I know it's hard," Barry said, "I'm sorry. I'd like to say it gets easier, but I can't because I've never gone through this, so it'd mean nothing coming from me. Still, I wish I could say something that would be comforting on some level." "Thanks dad," Calvin said, slightly smirking, "I appreciate your innate inclination towards trying to be comforting." Barry laughed, which made Calvin chuckle with him. A pair of young boys raced up the stairs and asked for candy, which Calvin happily gave them as Barry waved at the parents waiting on the lawn. After the boys raced back down, Calvin looked into the bowl and sighed. Barry patted his son on the shoulder and stood back up. "Your mom's making dinner if you want anything," he said, but Calvin just shrugged. "I think I'm just gonna stay out here a while," he said quietly, "It's nice seeing the kids." *** "Happy Halloween!" Rachel said as Scarlett opened the front door. Rachel was dressed as a mummy, having wrapped toilet paper all around herself, while Scarlett was dressed as a black cat. Scarlett laughed and hugged Rachel before inviting her in. "Boy, that's a lot of toilet paper," Scarlett said, shutting the door behind her, "You sure that's a good way to spend your hard earned cash?" "Are you kidding me? This isn't mine. This came from work. What do I look like I'm made of money?" Rachel asked, making her laugh again as she looked around and added, "Where's your kids?" "Wyatt took Mona trick or treating, while his mom took our son for the night," Scarlett said, "I stayed behind to drink and pass out candy." "Well lucky for you then that I brought both alcohol and candy," Rachel said, holding up dueling grocery bags, "let's get this party started." Rachel headed into the living room, Scarlett following behind her. As Rachel set the bags down on the coffee table, she turned and looked back at Scarlett, who was grabbing a small bottle opener from a nearby table and walking over with it. "I see you went with the classic hot girl costume," Rachel said. "Of course, it'd be a sin if I didn't," Scarlett said, "They'd revoke my hot bitches club card." Rachel reached inside the bag, pulled out a six pack of dark beer and handed one to Scarlett, then took one for herself. Scarlet popped the bottlecaps off both bottles and they toasted, then drank in unison. After a moment, Rachel sighed and flopped down onto the couch, Scarlett doing the same. "I'm surprised Wyatt took the kid," Rachel said, "Hopefully he's able to handle that." "He's so good with Mona, she honestly prefers him." "Doesn't that feel weird?" Rachel asked. "Not really, everyone was the favorite at some point when it came to their parents," Scarlett said, "I accepted a long time ago that she was daddy's little girl, and I'm happy that she has that. Lord knows I was never like that with my father. I mean, he loves me, I love him, but...it's not the same." "...I don't even talk to my parents," Rachel said, "kinda makes holidays lonely." "Well, now you have a family to spend the holidays with," Scarlett said, patting Rachel on the leg before hopping back off the couch, "Oh! I just remembered! I got jello shots!" *** "Dad, we are going trick or treating, right?" Mona, dressed as a ladybug, asked from the backseat. "We are, yes," Wyatt said from the drivers seat, glancing over at Celia in the passengers seat, who grimaced at him; he looked back at Mona and asked, "Can you put your noise cancelling headphones on? It's gonna get a bit loud for a moment while I open the windows." He knew she would listen, as she hated the sound of wind rushing past the car when the windows were open. Mona nodded, pulled her headphones off the seat beside her and slid them over her ears. The only downside was now Wyatt had to actually open the windows, if only momentarily. He rolled them down, then turned the radio on to cover his and Celia's voices. "I cannot believe you brought her," Celia said, "How are we going to do this if she's here?" "Trust me, she'd never tell anyone anything," Wyatt said, "Especially if we make it worth her while after the fact." "We're going to commit sabotage, for gods sake," Celia muttered, starting to sound frustrated, "How do you expect to-" "Celia, let me worry about my kid, okay?" Wyatt asked, which made her quit asking questions; sure Wyatt had had his doubts about taking Mona with them, but he knew that he could trust her, he could count on her, especially if - as he'd said - they made it worth her while afterwards. Heading towards the construction area Morgana was about to begin work on, Wyatt felt a mix of emotions inside him. Part of him was terrified at what he'd gotten involved in, or was about to be involved in, but another part of him felt proud, like he'd never done anything so righteous in his life and this was a long time coming. *** "When we were in high school, did you ever go to one of Kendra Killgore's Halloween parties?" Scarlett asked as she slumped more and more into the couch, shoving M&M's in her mouth. "Not really. I wasn't really a party person," Rachel said. "Neither was I, actually. Contrary to popular belief, cheerleaders aren't just party girl airheads. I only went to one and only because she asked me to help her throw it, and we had been best friends in middle school so I felt weirdly obligated," Scarlett said, sipping her beer, "anyway, we throw this party and Wyatt came with me and at some point during the night I got suddenly overwhelmed and I had to hide in a hall closet with him so I could get away from all the noise and stuff." "That's sweet that he hid with you," Rachel said, smiling. "That's Wyatt for you. Everyone expects him to be this judgemental douchebag but he really isn't that at all. He's such a nice guy, and an actual nice guy, not a guy who says they're nice simply to get into your pants. Anyway, we're in there and he's talking in this low voice, telling me it'll be okay, that I'll be okay, and that if I just focus on something other than the noise that it won't bother me as much...when our daughter got diagnosed recently with ASD, I knew he immediately would be good at dealing with it. He's just...really capable at taking care of those he cares about. I wish I was." "You don't think you're a good mom?" Rachel asked, and Scarlett shrugged. "I don't know," she said, "To be honest, I don't know that I ever really expected to be a mom, exactly. I mean, I wasn't against it or anything, I just...I'm pretty self absorbed, and I'll admit that. I love my children to death, but I do think I'm not a great mom." "You seem like a better mom than mine," Rachel said, "So that's a step in the right direction." Just then a knock came at the door, and the girls heard a symphony of shrill kids shout "trick or treat!" at the top of their lungs. They smiled at one another, grabbed the candy bowl and pounced off the couch, rushing to the front door where they were met with cheers. *** Wyatt pulled the car into the construction lot and waited for a moment after shutting the engine off. He took a deep sigh, then looked at Celia, who looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You ready?" she asked. "Indeed," he said. "You got a mask? In case they got cameras?" "Indeed," he repeated, pulling a mask over his face, "I'm Batman." "You're such a dork," Celia chuckled. "What are we doing?" Mona asked, pulling her headphones off and looking at them. Wyatt and Celia looked back at her, then exchanged a glance, and then realized they couldn't hide it from her. Wyatt took a deep breath and reached back, putting his hand on his daughters knee. "I'm gonna do something that's going to make the world a better place, not just for everyone, but for you too, but you can never tell anyone we did this, do you understand? We're like...a secret spy team. You wanna make the world a better place, don't you?" he asked, and Mona nodded; he smiled and patted her knee, adding, "Atta girl." Wyatt opened his car door and got out, heading towards a nearby bulldozer. He looked around, then climbed up it and felt around. Surprisingly, he found the keys just sitting there, and so he sat down and pushed them into the ignition, starting the bulldozer up. As the sound roared out of it, Mona shouted at the sound, then pulled her headphones back on over her ears. Celia reached back and held her hand. "Shh, it's okay, it's alright, just cover it up," she whispered. "Jesus, how does anyone work these things?" Wyatt asked. Surprisingly, despite working in a similar field, he'd never actually drove any kind of major construction equipment. Suddenly the bulldozer shifted beneath him, thrusting him forward violently, making his face hit the windshield. He groaned, the fell out of the bulldozer and rolled down it onto the dirt below. "Daddy!" Mona shouted. "Jesus," Celia said, suddenly lunging from the car and rushing to where he'd fallen. As she knelt down beside him, she could hear him groaning, so she knew he was at least alive. Just then she looked up and noticed the bulldozer, still going on its own, had somehow turned and then crunched into a nearby mobile office. Celia and Wyatt just sat there, completely in shock. A moment later, after regaining herself, Celia lifted Wyatt back up and helped him back to the car. "Daddy? Are you okay?" Mona asked, and Wyatt nodded, pulling his mask off and running his hand through his hair. "I think so," he said, "I think a tooth is loose, but otherwise I'm fine. Luckily my nose didn't break." "Daddy?" Mona asked. "Yeah baby?" "Can we go trick or treating now?" she asked, making both Wyatt and Celia chuckle. Kids always knew how to make things better. *** "I want what you have," Rachel said, both women lying on the floor of the living room now, still eating candy out of the bowl, both about three beers into the six pack. "What? You wanna murder me and replace me like some kind of Stepford Wife?" Scarlett asked. "No," Rachel said, both of them laughing, "no I...I just...I want the kind of love you have in your life. I want that with this girl. I just can't bring myself to do it, which is stupid, cause love's all that really matters in the world, isn't it? Caring about one another?" "It should be if it isn't," Scarlett said, groaning as she sat up and adjusted her cat ears, saying, "I mean, we all act so combative but we shouldn't be. We're all the same species. We should all be helping one another, caring about one another, whether we're blood related or not. I think you should just go for it, tell this girl how you feel and-" "I can't," Rachel said quietly. "Why not?" Scarlett asked, "I mean, I know you said you're worried about ruining the friendship, but-" "It's more my parents than worrying about the friendship," Rachel replied, "I'm so scared of disappointing them." "You being happy would disappoint them?" "Actually I wouldn't put that past them," Rachel said, both women chuckling again before she added, "but no, it's more the being gay thing. They act liberally. They act like they're open minded, but behind closed doors they're somewhat closed minded, especially when it comes to people in their immediate lives. I'm just scared of disappointing them, which makes no sense considering they don't care about disappointing me." Scarlett looked over her shoulder at Rachel and shook her head. "I say go for it," she said, shrugging, "I mean, look at what you have now. Parents who don't love you and a girl who might but you aren't sure. At least if the outcome is that she does, then you'll have someone who loves you, even if your parents still don't. I'd say that outcome is worth the effort." "...maybe," Rachel said, chewing on her lip. "Oh my godddd I have to peeee," Scarlett said, getting up and hurrying off to the bathroom. Rachel got up and started to clean up the candy wrappers when she heard the front door open. She looked up and saw Mona running upstairs, her bag full of candy, and then Wyatt stumbled into the doorway to the living room. "You're here a lot now," he said. "What happened to your face?" Rachel asked. "It's not noticeable is it?" he asked, touching his face, "shit it hurts. Where's my wife?" "In the bathroom," Rachel said. "You leaving?" he asked. "I will if you want me to," she replied, "but I think my presence is more dictated by your wife than you." Wyatt smirked and sat down on the arm of the couch, reaching up into his mouth and groaning as he poked at a tooth. Rachel immediately came over and knelt down to eye level, telling him to put his head back. Wyatt listened and Rachel reached inside, then grabbed the tooth with her fingers and pried it out. Wyatt groaned, but quickly covered his mouth to hide the noise. Rachel stepped back, looking at the tooth, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Did you get in a bar fight?" she asked. "I did something stupid," Wyatt said, sounding, and looking, fairly pathetic, like he was worried Scarlett would ask questions. Just then Rachel heard Scarlett coming down the stairs, and she quickly reached into her pockets, pulled out a piece of hard candy, unwrapped it and shoved it into Wyatt's mouth. "Bite down then scream!" she whispered urgently, and he did as he was instructed. Just as Scarlett entered the room, Wyatt screamed, opening his mouth and letting the small jawbreaker roll from his mouth onto the floor. Rachel knelt down and acted as though she were picking his tooth up off the floor. "What the hell happened?" Scarlett asked. "I gave him a piece of candy and it took his tooth out!" Rachel said, "Wyatt, I am so sorry, are you okay?" Wyatt nodded, going along with the ruse even if completely uncertain why exactly Rachel was helping him. Rachel pushed the tooth into Scarlett's hand. She looked down at it, and then grimaced. "Ew," she said. "We've had kids together, you're not allowed to be disgusted by a singular tooth," Wyatt said, making her laugh. "I should get going," Rachel said, "I'd suggest going to a dentist quickly and getting that taken care of." Rachel gathered her things, hugged Scarlett goodbye and headed for the front door, Wyatt coming along with her. As they walked onto the porch, shutting the door behind them, Wyatt grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. "What the hell was that about?" he asked. "Your wife is my friend, and a happy wife means a happy life, so you owe me," she said, "what happened anyway?" "...I did something I shouldn't have," he muttered. "Yeah, well...I know what that's like," Rachel said. *** Oliver Brighton had a normal morning the day after Halloween. He ate breakfast, he read the newspaper, he took his kids to school and then he headed to work. As he pulled up to the location, he found quite a scene. A bulldozer crunched into the mobile office, a group of men trying to clear the wreckage, and his supervisor, a woman named Melinda Barr, who walked briskly up to him, a really angry look on her face. "What the hell happened here?" Oliver asked, pushing his glasses up. "That was gonna be my question to you," Melinda said, "You're supposed to prevent this sort of thing. What the hell, Oliver?" "I...I don't...what happened?" "Someone left the keys in the bulldozer and drove it right into the office, it's pretty cut and dry," Melinda said, "but you're our safety supervisor, you're supposed to prevent these sorts of things. This is going to stall our operations by months, as now we're gonna have to have an outside safety supervisor come in and make sure this work site is in fact safe to work at." "Well, you don't need someone else to come in and do that, I'll write off on it, you know that. Anything to get-" "No, we need an outsider if we don't wanna wind up in court," Melinda said, "If we had you do it, because you work for the company, it'd look like we're trying to get away with something. By having an outside safety supervisor come in, at least we can say we're trying to do things by the book." "Okay, fair enough. What should I do?" Oliver asked, following he as she started to walk back to the group of men. "Find another job," she said, which stopped him in his tracks. "Wh...what?" he asked. "I'm sorry, Oliver, but this is too big to ignore," Melinda said, "I have to deal with this. You're fired. Not my orders." And with that she turned away and headed off to deal with the men. Oliver stood there, staring at the sight, aware his world was crumbling around him. Oliver turned and slowly walked back to his car. He got in, shut the door behind him and just stared at the sight in front of him. He felt rage building inside him. Everything he'd built up for himself, in a legitimate career, had suddenly come to an abrupt end. Oliver reached to the glovebox and opened it, looking at the handgun in it, then shut the glovebox and started the car. He then started the car, and started to drive away.
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A group of former high school classmates reunite at their 10 year reunion, and discover they each want something different, many with someone else there. What ensues is a labyrinthian relationship amongst them involving crime, murder, romance and, in one particular case, terrorism. Archives
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